I began tying my own leaders 3 years ago and I'm starting to think it might be easier to go back to packaged knotless tapered leaders. It seems like no matter how many different formulas I tie up, I never have what I want in my leader wallet. I have thought about tying a couple butt/mid sections down to maybe 0-2x and then just leaving a tippet ring at the end to tie on tippet for any situation. Does anyone have a system they use both on or off the stream to cover all the bases? Or is it just easier to start with a 7.5' or 9' 5x leader and cut back or add tippet as needed?

I tie about 4 different leaders to cover the different situations i most often encounter , carry about 4 spools of tippet material and can adjust the "new" ones by either trimming off some of the butt , or adding tippet or both , been doing it that way for a long time but i gotta admit i haven't tried a furled leader yet but this year i'm going to. Change becomes less welcome the older i get , but trying furled leaders is something on my list.

I honestly wasn't quite sure what a furled leader was until I googled it last night after reading mutzinbaugh's post. The concept seems to really simplify things. I wonder whether I could accomplish the same thing by just tying a few different butt/mid sections and simply tying in a tippet ring at the end. My question is whether I use a furled leader or a hand tied leader, if there is a large difference in material diameter between 1 side of the tippet ring and the other, won't that cause a severe hinge? It seems like you would still have to taper down from the tippet ring, but that would defeat the purpose.

I always have a few extra tapered leader tied up and in my vest. I coil each and put them in a zip lock bag.

I also tie up extra tippet sections from 2X down and keep those the same way.

I label each of the bagies with a sharpie and put them in zip lock freezer bag.

the whole think is real compact and means I only carry 2 or 3 spools of tippet with me and when I get hung up or wind up with a birdsnest, it is much less frustrating to just clip off the old and tie on a new instead of wasting time untangling and re-tyeing.

It is much easier to sit at the kitchen tabel for a half hour and tie up leaders than when you are on the stream.

I started using furled leaders last year when I needed a winter project. I made a jig out of scrap wood and twisted the line using a cordless drill. I played around with different combinations - thread, mono, fluro. Most of my fishing is with nymphs and I really like a fluro furled leader with a tippet ring and I didn't care much for the thread leaders I made.

I picked up a blue sky furled leader this afternoon and headed straight for the stream. It was awesome! Turned over a dry dropper rig with a weighted nymph very nicely. When I came across a pod of risers I was able to quickly tie on a 4' piece of 7x and a sz 20 BWO emerger. The leader really shined with a small dry and despite my doubts, there was no hinge at the leader/tippet connection even with the drastic difference in the size of the materials. Pleasantly surprised!

Been fly fishing for over forty years. Started using furled leaders a little over a year ago.....Blue Sky and Feathercraft. No turning back. Just simplifies the whole on stream experience. You will be amazed at how much your casting "improves".

for those nymphing maniacs...you can furle some bright orange to make your own sighter, then simply nail knot to the fly line and a handshake knot to the shorb loop on your furled leader...tippet ring and there it is. put em on the bank.

has anyone ever treated the furled leader with silicone for supreme buoyancy?

for those nymphing maniacs...you can furle some bright orange to make your own sighter, then simply nail knot to the fly line and a handshake knot to the shorb loop on your furled leader...tippet ring and there it is. put em on the bank.

has anyone ever treated the furled leader with silicone for supreme buoyancy?

podflyguy wrote:So is it worth it to make one of these jigs and twist up some homemade furled leaders?? There seem to be plans and formulas all over the internet, but I fear this may just complicate things again.

Yes!

The commercially available furled leaders are outrageously priced IMO. For the cost of 3 leaders you can build a jig and get enough material for many leaders. A typical mono furled leader has about 10-15 cents worth of mono in it.

Also I think that the mono and fluoro leaders that are out there are WAY,WAY, WAY to heavy for trout applications. The butt diameters are crazy. They are also extremely stretchy, which causes some interesting tangles when you break off a snag.

In my experience 8/0 and 6/0 Uni-thread are the best materials you can use to build furled leaers. These very fine threads allow you to more easily control the diameter and taper of your laders and have far less stretch than the mono lleaders.

Finally, I was once a furleld leader zealot and used them almost all the time, but now only use them for dry fly and very shallow presentations. Experience showed they are terrible for deeper nymphing and streamer fishing IMO.

Like so many other things, they are trendy and get rave reviews, but they are really just another tool that has an appropriate time and a place.

i always over do it and have around 10 spare leaders and will be swinging by saturday night at the 7 mountains jam if anybody wants to try one look me up and i will give one to you. or maybe trade for a cold beer! i can also explain how to make one.